What is Large Format Photography?

Large format photography as we practice it, is created using large cut sheets of traditional analog film, typically measuring either 4×5 inches or 8×10 inches in size. These sheets are carefully loaded into film holders, each of which holds two sheets of film, one on each side, protected by a removable “dark slide.” (The dark slide is the oblong object with tiny handles on it depicted in our logo at the top of the screen.) This process must be done in total darkness, because the film will be destroyed if exposed to stray light.

Our cameras are “view cameras,” which come in two varieties, the “field camera” and the “monorail.” Field cameras are typically the more compact and lightweight of the two, while monorails are the more fully featured and flexible. Each type of camera features two “standards.” A standard is the upright portion of the camera, shaped like a frame. The “front standard” contains a square opening, into which the lens board is clipped. The lens is in turn installed into the lens board using a spanner wrench. The “rear standard” contains the “ground glass,” literally a rectangular pane of glass which has been sanded down, thus allowing an image to be resolved on it from the lens, upside down and backwards, due to the lack of mirrors to “correct” the image that are usually found in other types of cameras. In front of the ground glass, is an opening which can be pried open using a lever, spring, or strap. Into this opening, we insert the film holder, to capture the image that is being projected onto the ground glass. Now, having two standards with nothing between them wouldn’t work, so we also need a perfectly dark tunnel to connect them. This flexible tunnel is called “the bellows.” It must be flexible, because each of the standards can be moved around in space to achieve various effects. Moving the front standard maneuvers the plane of focus around, allowing us to “swing” or “tilt” the plane of sharp focus to follow the subject we are photographing. The rear standard can be swung or tilted to change the perspective of the image, in order to emphasize the foreground, background, or one side over the other. Read More

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Heart of Maples

Maples leaves that had fallen into a sandstone pocket. Captured with an Arca-Swiss 4x5 camera using Fujichrome Velvia 50 film.

Alex Burke

The late-autumn forest was mostly void of leaves up high, but the ground and fallen timber was covered in the brilliant hues of fall foliage. The white peeling birch made for a perfect backdrop for a pair of fallen leaves.
Provia 100f 4x5, 135mm lens
4 seconds at f32, warming filter

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